Transaction cards, such as credit and debit cards, have increasingly become a primary means for customers to complete financial transactions. In parallel, advances in sensor technologies, embedded processing, and wireless connectivity have fueled the emergence of system-on-chip devices that can be implemented in daily use products. A “smart” transaction card hosts such system-on-chip devices to enable customers an enriched shopping and banking experience.
A smart card is capable of embedding information from more than one transaction card account into a single card. A potential advantage of a smart card is that if a user has more than one account, the user could carry a single smart card that digitally embeds information of multiple accounts of the same user, and allows for quick and easy access through navigation capabilities, thus simplifying management of the multiple accounts. Smart cards can also support multiple functionalities, such as, secure wireless pairing with smartphones, navigation capabilities, multi-factor authentication, and displays for easy visualization.
An important challenge for smart card manufacturers is addressing the high-power consumption requirements for seamless operation of the cards. Typically, smart cards use rechargeable batteries that have to be periodically recharged, or non-rechargeable batteries that have a finite lifespan, potentially causing unpredictable interruptions in their usage.
The disclosed systems and methods for hybrid energy harvesting for smart cards address one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other deficiencies in the prior art.